An article in the Phoenix Biz Journal yesterday claims to reveal, “How Ducey, ACA and Scottsdale combined to keep JDA Software in Arizona.”
Read it for yourself, but I don’t see any mention of any specific thing that Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane, Economic Development Development Director Danielle Casey, or Arizona Governor Doug Ducey did for JDA Software, other than, “…regularly meeting with our business community to build a relationship.”
On the contrary, the article does say that,
The software company, founded in Cleveland, Ohio, moved to the Valley to be close to its first major client, an auto parts supplier. Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Iaquinto told the Business Journal the cluster of supply chain companies and talent were a big part of the reason to stay.
“We have been based in the Phoenix area since 1987, in large part due to that supply chain talent pipeline as well as the business-friendly corporate tax environment that exists in Arizona,” he said.
And that,
JDA didn’t want to give up the Valley talent pool available in its sector.
“There is an abundance of supply chain talent and expertise in the Phoenix area,” Iaquinto said. “For example, the nearby ASU grad program, and other companies in the area with expertise, such as Avnet, who have a heavy focus on supply chain and a vested interest in cultivating local talent.”
So JDA Software moved here for business reasons, and they want to stay here for business reasons. Is a little hand-holding by city and state officials all they really needed to convince them not to move?
I suspect (just my opinion from a couple of decades of observation) that JDA sensed that an elbow in the soft, corrupt underbelly of Scottsdale city government would net them some significant subsidies and/or other favorable treatment…niceties that are not available to you and me.